Confirmation and Wedding

– an exhibition of dresses

19. April - 22. May 2011

Confirmation used to mark that the big girl was becoming a grown woman - and wedding was a celebration of the grown women becoming responsible for her own household. Originally, girls wore black dresses for their confirmation and brides wore black as well - a dress that could be their 'good dress' for years to come.

The white dresses are a sign of wealth and surplus: more and more families could afford to buy a nice dress for just this one occasion and afterwards hang it in the closet as a memento. The Women's Museum has a large collection of both confirmation and wedding dresses. During the months filled with budding confirmands, the dresses are on display. Earlier, the museum has displayed large parts of the wedding dress collection, but here we show confirmation and wedding dresses side by side - and without the veils on the brides it is almost impossible to tell them apart.